Wall bracket with integrated vertical lock

ABSTRACT

Improvements in a wall mount bracket are disclosed. The bracket works with flat panel televisions, monitors, signs and boards. An elongated back member is secured to a wall. The back member has a single vertical tang. One or more brackets have an angled slot that engages onto the tang. Once engaged the bracket is rotated to a vertical orientation. In the vertical orientation a ledge on the angled slot prevents the bracket from being lifted off the back member unless the bracket is rotated to align the angled slot with the tang. The back member further has bent tabs to prevent the bracket from being slid horizontally off the back member. The entire placement and locking of the bracket and the back member is performed from a top to bottom motion.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to improvements in a wall mountable bracket. Moreparticularly, the present wall mountable bracket allows for placement ofthe bracket on a wall hanger in a top down motion. The bracket has anarrow rotational engage window where the bracket slides onto the wallhanger. Once engaged the bracket rotates into vertical orientation andlocks the bracket onto the wall hanger preventing disengagement fromvertical lifting of the bracket.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There are many types of TV, board and shelf mounting patents thatincorporate a variety of different attachment methods. Each patentapproaches the problem based upon security of the device on the wall andthe method of installation. To focus the background this disclosurelimits the identified patents with inventions that secure to a backbrace with a top to bottom securing motion and to brackets that providesome form of blocking to prevent disconnection with the back brace ifthe bracket is lifted vertically without the use of screws or additionalhardware to secure the bracket onto the back brace. Exemplary examplesof bracket mountings is found in the below identified patents.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,018,323 issued May 28, 1991 to Knud Clauson and U.S.Pat. No. 7,086,543 issued Aug. 8, 2006 to Lee E. Remmers both disclose awall panel of shelving system made from sheet material where the shelfor panel is brought down into a back member and the shelf or panel isrotated into a cavity in the back member. Once the shelf or panel ininstalled a detail on the bracket or panel minimizes upward motion ofthe bracket or panel to prevent the bracket or panel from beingdislodged. While both of these patents provide the blocking ability toprevent the shelf or panel from being removed from the back member theyutilize an open cavity in the back member for capturing the bracket orpanel that increases the cost of manufacturing and the bracket or panelmust still be lifted slightly to engage it with the back member. Inaddition these patents do not disclose a stop on one or both ends of theback member to prevent the bracket or panel from being slid off the sideof the back member.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,050,832 issued Sep. 24, 1991 to E. Desmond Lee et al.,discloses a modular storage unit mounting system. The wall fasteningcomponents include a “C” bracket that is secured to the storage unit anda back member that has a raised lip on the tip. The installer hooks thetop of the “C” bracket on the back member and then rotates the storageunit until the storage unit rests against the wall. The lower part ofthe “C ” bracket prevents vertical motion of the “C” bracket to preventaccidental dislodging of the storage unit from the wall. While thispatent provides a bracket and back member that is vertically located ona back member and the engagement prevents accidental removal fromvertical motion the “C” bracket engages on the back member from bendslocated both above and below the back member. The bracketing system alsorequires the storage unit to prevent rotation of the bracket. The patentdoes not provide an end stop to prevent the storage unit from being slidoff the side of the back member.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,311,295 issued Jan. 19, 1982 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,403,761issued Sep. 13, 1983 both to Walker Jamar disclose a wall mountingpresentation system having a locking holder. The wall securingcomponents are similar in construction with the previously identifiedDesmond Lee patent where a “C” bracket connects and secures to the backmember. One major difference is the shape of the back member. In DesmondLee the back member was formed from sheet metal while in these patentsthe back member is molded. The Jamar patents are most specificallyintended for use on a presentation board to allow the presentation boardto be easily secured and removed using the “C” bracket on the backmember. In FIGS. 4-6 in patent '763 the mounting bracket uses a hinge toarticulate the presentation board over and onto the back member. Theaddition of the hinge adds another level of complexity. The bracketingsystem relies upon a loose fit for the bracket to make the presentationboard easy to erect and take down and the loose fit also makes itsusceptible to accidental removal. In operation the presentation boardsits at an angle and requires the “C” bracket to pivot to maintainengaged contact with the back member. These patents do not provide anend stop to prevent the presentation board from being slid off eitherside of the back member.

What is needed is a simple bracket and back member that is installedfrom a top to bottom motion that locks the bracket to prevent accidentalremoval from vertical motion. The pieces would provide their own wallsrotation stops and include details that prevent the brackets from beingslid of the sides of the back member. The proposed bracket a back memberprovides this solution in a simple two or three piece system that can beused to hang a variety of items from flat panel televisions to writingboards, display signs, wall panels, posters, pictures and more.

While the disclosed wall mounting components are ideally intended foruse as a cost effective wall mounting method for a flat screentelevision the device is also well suited for securing writing boards,display signs, wall panels, posters, pictures and other planar and multidimensional items.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the wall bracket with integrated vertical lock forthe bracket to be configured with an angled slot that allows the bracketto only be removed from the back member when the slot is properlyaligned. The alignment ensures that the bracket is not dislodged fromthe back member if it is bumped or lifted. In operation the removal ofthe bracket requires the user to rotate away the bottom of the bracketto align the slot before they begin to lift the bracket from the backmember.

It is an object of the wall bracket with integrated vertical lock toengage the wall bracket with the back member using a motion from topdownward. This is particularly important when installing a heavy itemwhere gravity forces the item downward. The down facing slot allows aninstaller to start with the apparatus far above the back member andslide the bracket down the wall until the bracket makes contact with theback member where it hooks onto the back member. Gravity will the pivotand rotate the slot into engagement with the back member therebysecuring the two pieces in together.

It is another object of the wall bracket with integrated vertical lockto have details to prevent the brackets from sliding off the ends of theback member. The details are bent ears on the ends of the back memberthat stop the bracket from sliding past the end of the back member. Thisis particularly important because a user may hang a television on thebrackets and then want to re-position the television on the wall bysliding the television and brackets on the back member. Without the bentears a user could slide the monitor until one bracket becomes dislodgedfrom the back member that would result in the display falling.

It is still another object of the wall bracket with integrated verticallock to provide brackets that prevent excessive rotation of the mountedobject. This is important because a mounted object such as a televisionrequires some air flow for cooling and because the television should bemounted to align the television in a vertical orientation and withoutthe rotation prevention details the television could rotate the screento an undesirable angle.

Various objects, features, aspects, and advantages of the presentinvention will become more apparent from the following detaileddescription of preferred embodiments of the invention, along with theaccompanying drawings in which like numerals represent like components.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an isometric view of the bracket and back member securedtogether.

FIG. 2A-2D shows the bracket being engaged on the back member

FIG. 3 shows the bracket and back member mounted with a flat panelmonitor or television.

FIG. 4 shows the engagement angle of the bracket.

FIG. 5 is a detailed view of the engagement portion of the bracket andthe back member.

FIG. 6 is a side view of the bracket on the back member.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows an isometric view of the bracket 20 and back member 50secured together and further bolted 56 to a wall. This is theconfiguration how the two components would be engaged when they areinstalled on a wall. This view provides a visual of the majority of theparts to provide a basic understanding of the design. Starting with theback member 50 that is formed from a sheet metal or equivalent material.The back member 50 is formed in an elongated shape from 12 inches orless to eight feet or more depending upon the installation. In thepreferred embodiment for holding a flat panel monitor or television theback member is about 26 inches in length. This length is determinedbased upon the size of what is being supported. In the preferredembodiment the length allows the back member 70 to be disposed entirelybehind the object being supported.

The back member has two parallel sections including a wall mountingsection 53 and an upper tab 51. While these sections are identified asparallel it is contemplated that there could be some angularrelationship between them based upon a desired engagement with thebracket 20. A horizontal bend section 52 joins the wall mounting section53 and an upper tab 51. The wall mounting section 53 has a plurality ofholes or elongated slots 55 for placement of screws or bolts 56 to mountthe back member to a wall 49. In the preferred embodiment these slots 55are located and configured for placement of the bolt(s) 56 into wallstuds in a home or building. On the outside ends of the upper tab a sidestop 54 is deformed from the upper tab 51 to prevent the bracket 20 frombeing slid off the end of the back member 50.

The bracket 20 is also an elongated member that is made from sheet metalor equivalent material. The bracket is essentially an L bracket with afoot formed to make a wall contact tab 25 that is connected to a bottombend 24 that is bend from the monitor mounting side 21 of the bracket.The L bracket has a monitor mounting side 21 where a monitor televisioncabinet, board or other item would be secures and a angled slot side 22for mounting the bracket 20 onto the back member 50. The monitormounting side 21 has one or more holes 23 for hardware such as screwsbolt or the like that go through the hole(s) 23 and into the device thatis being hung. The angled slot 27 secures the bracket 20 onto the backmember. Detailed description and images of the interface between theangled hook and the back member are found in FIGS. 2A-2D, 4, 5 and 6.Vertical stop 26 on the bracket 20 makes contact with the horizontalbend 52 of the back member to block, or lock, vertical motion or liftingof the bracket from dislodging the bracket 20 from the back member 50.

FIG. 2A-2D shows the bracket 20 being engaged on the back member 50.These figures, starting from FIG. 2A and continuing through FIG. 2D,show the installation and locking of the bracket 20 onto the back member50 using motion only from above the back member down. Note not all itemnumbers appear in each figure and some figures will have item numbersthat are not identified and described with each figure.

In FIG. 2A the bracket 20 is located above the back member 50. The headradius 28 is near or in contact with the wall 49 as the bracket is moveddownward 70. As the bracket 20 makes contact with the upper tab 51 ofthe back member 50 the bracket will ride over the top of the upper tabas shown in FIG. 2B.

From FIG. 2B the bracket 20 has moved down where the upper tab is beingengaged into the angled slot 27. The angled slot forms an angle ofbetween 15 and 45 degrees and is preferably between 25 and 35 degrees.In the preferred embodiment the angle is 30 degrees. The nose radius 31guides the angled slot 27 onto the upper tab 51. There is a narrow angleof engagement of the upper tab and the angled slot to ensure properengagement and locking to the bracket 20 and the back member 50. Theangle of engagement is shown and described in more detail in FIG. 4. Thedownward motion 70 continues until the nose radius 31 makes contact withthe back bar vertical stop 57 as shown in FIG. 2C.

In FIG. 2C the downward motion of the bracket 20 has essentially stoppedbecause the nose radius 31 of the bracket 20 is in contact with the backbar vertical stop 57. The bracket 20 is now rotated 71 in the verticalslot 29 until the bracket 20 is in a vertical orientation as shown inFIG. 2D.

In FIG. 2D the bracket is in vertical orientation with the upper tab 51engaged in the vertical slot 29. The wall contact tab 25 (not shown)prevents additional rotation 71 of the bracket 20 beyond vertical. Aclearance notch 30 provides clearance for a bolt 56 (not shown) thatsecures the back member. The side stop 54 prevents the bracket 20 frombeing slid off the end of the back member 50 because the material at theangled slot 27 will make contact with the side stop 54. Once the bracket20 and the back member 50 are engaged as shown in FIG. 2D verticalmotion 72 is prevented because the vertical stop 26 is essentially incontact with the back bar vertical stop 57. The only way to remove thebracket 20 is to rotate the bracket to align the angled slot 27 with theupper tab 51.

FIG. 3 shows the bracket 20 and back member 50 mounted with a flat panelmonitor or television 80. This is a typical installation where first thebrackets 20 are screwed or bolted 81 into the back of a television ormonitor 80. While other clamping, bonding or securing methods arecontemplated the result is essentially the same to secure a cabinet,board or other object to the bracket(s) 20. The back member 80 is shownsecured to a wall using screws bolts 56 or similar hardware. The wallcontact tabs 25 on the brackets 20 maintain the flat panel monitor ortelevision 80 a vertical orientation and further provide an air gap forcooling of the flat panel monitor or television.

FIG. 4 shows the engagement angle of the bracket 20. The bracket 20 hasa narrow opening 32 for engagement onto the back member 50 (not shown).The narrow opening allows for a limited angle 82 where the two partsengage. This limited angle 82 is fairly naturally found (as shown anddescribed in FIG. 2A-2D) as the bracket 20 is moved along a wall 49since there is only a limited space 33 between the wall 49 and theangled slot 27. The gap between the angled slot 27 and the horizontalstop 26 is typically less than three times the thickness of thevertically elongated upper lip or upper tab 51 on the back member 50.

FIG. 5 is a detailed view of the engagement portion of the bracket 20and the back member 50. This detailed view shows the upper tab 51 seatedin the vertical slot 29. From this view it is clear that verticallifting of the bracket 20 will prevent removal of the bracket 20 fromthe back member 50 because the vertical stop 26 on the bracket isessentially in contact with the back bar vertical stop 57 thatessentially locks the bracket 20 in position from accidentaldisengagement. The side stop 54 is shown to provide clarity how itprevents the bracket 20 from being slid off the end of the back member50. The clearance notch 30 is shown to provide clearance to a screw orbolt that secures the back member onto a wall as shown in more detail inFIG. 6.

FIG. 6 is a side view of the bracket 20 on the back member 50. In thisfigure the back member 50 is bolted 58 to a wall 49 the head 56 of thebolt 58 is visible with clearance from the bracket that is provided fromclearance notch 30. Bolts or screws 81 pass through the bracket 20 andenter into the object being mounted (not shown). The wall contact tabs25 on the brackets 20 prevents rotation of the bracket and maintains thebracket 20 in a vertical orientation and may further provide an air gapor path. The vertical stop 26 on the bracket is essentially in contactwith the back bar vertical stop 57 that essentially locks the bracket 20in position from accidental disengagement. Spacer(s) 83 can be used onthe screws or bolts 81 to change the angular relationship of a mountedobject.

Another contemplated embodiment would use only one bracket 20 on a backmember 50 that utilizes one or more similar angled hook(s) to secure theobject to a wall. Another contemplated embodiment uses an angled bracketor spacer to angle the flat panel monitor or television.

Thus, specific embodiments of a wall mounting bracket have beendisclosed. It should be apparent, however, to those skilled in the artthat many more modifications besides those described are possiblewithout departing from the inventive concepts herein. The inventivesubject matter, therefore, is not to be restricted except in the spiritof the appended claims.

1. A wall mounting bracket comprising: an elongated back member havingan essentially flat back surface and vertically elongated upper lip thatis distally bent from said essentially flat back surface; an elongatedvertical bracket with an upper front edge having an open angled slot incombination with a vertical pocket oriented parallel to the length ofsaid elongated vertical bracket; wherein said elongated vertical bracketengages onto said vertically elongated upper lip by passing said angledslot onto said vertically elongated upper lip and rotating saidelongated vertical bracket such that said vertically elongated upper lipengages into said vertical pocket, and said elongated vertical brackethas a lower leg extending from said elongated vertical bracket thatmaintains a gap between said body of said elongated vertical bracket anda wall when said vertical pocket on said vertically elongated bracket isengaged on said vertically elongated upper lip on said back member. 2.The wall mounting bracket according to claim 1 wherein said elongatedback member has a horizontal bend connecting said essentially flat backsurface and said vertically elongated upper lip.
 3. The wall mountingbracket according to claim 2 wherein the angled slot further includes ahorizontal stop oriented such that when said elongated bracket isvertically engaged on said elongated back member said horizontal stopessentially contacts said horizontal bend to essentially preventvertical movement of said elongated vertical bracket on said elongatedback member.
 4. The wall mounting bracket according to claim 3 wherein agap between said open angled slot and said horizontal stop on saidvertically elongated is less than three times the thickness of saidvertically elongated upper lip of said elongated back member.
 5. Thewall mounting bracket according to claim 1 wherein said elongated backmember has at least one hole or slot for mounting said elongated backmember on a flat surface.
 6. The wall mounting bracket according toclaim 1 wherein said elongated vertical bracket has at least one hole orslot for mounting an object to said elongated vertical bracket.
 7. Thewall mounting bracket according to claim 1 wherein said open angled sloton said elongated vertical bracket is oriented at an angle of between 15and 45 degrees
 8. The wall mounting bracket according to claim 1 whereinsaid elongated back member further includes at least one side stop bentfrom said vertically elongated upper lip to prevent said engagedelongated vertical bracket from sliding off said elongated back member.9. The wall mounting bracket according to claim 5 wherein said elongatedvertical bracket further includes a clearance notch located along saidelongated vertical bracket's vertical axis for clearance of a screw orbolt placed into the at least one hole or slot.
 10. The wall mountingbracket according to claim 6 wherein an angular relationship of anobject mounted to the elongated vertical bracket is adjustable withspacers placed on said vertical bracket.
 11. A wall mounting bracketcomprising: a first elongated member having at least one vertical tab; asecond elongated member having a single angled opening transitioninginto a vertical slot whereby said second elongated member engages ontosaid at least one vertical tab by inserting said at least one verticaltab into said singled angled opening and rotating said second elongatedmember until said at least one vertical tab engages into said verticalslot whereby said second elongated member is locked on said firstelongated member.
 12. The wall mounting bracket according to claim 11wherein said first elongated member two vertical surfaces connected withhorizontal bend creating an essentially flat back surface and said atleast one vertical tab.
 13. The wall mounting bracket according to claim12 wherein the angled opening further includes a horizontal stoporiented such that when said second elongated member is engaged on saidfirst member said horizontal stop essentially contacts said horizontalbend to essentially prevent vertical movement of said first elongatedmember on said second elongated member.
 14. The wall mounting bracketaccording to claim 13 wherein a gap between said open angled opening andsaid horizontal stop on said second elongated member is less than threetimes the thickness of said at least one vertical tab.
 15. The wallmounting bracket according to claim 11 wherein said first elongatedmember has at least one hole or slot for mounting said essentially flatback surface on a flat surface.
 16. The wall mounting bracket accordingto claim 11 wherein said second elongated member has at least one holeor slot for mounting an object to said second elongated member.
 17. Thewall mounting bracket according to claim 11 wherein said single angledopening on said second elongated member is oriented at an angle ofbetween 15 and 45 degrees
 18. The wall mounting bracket according toclaim 11 wherein said first elongated member further includes at leastone side stop bent from said at least one vertical tab to prevent saidengaged second elongated member from sliding off said first elongatedmember.
 19. The wall mounting bracket according to claim 15 wherein saidsecond elongated member further includes a clearance notch located alongsaid second elongated member's vertical access for clearance of a screwor bolt placed into the at least one hole or slot.
 20. The wall mountingbracket according to claim 16 wherein an angular relationship of anobject mounted to the second elongated member is adjustable with spacersplaced on said second elongated member.